Hidden Beneath the Mist
by Runaway Memories
Summary: You sometimes wonder if it was ever you she tried so hard to win over, you she wanted to be with. You she once loved. LeoPiper
1. Leo

**A/N:**** To Nica_. _Happy Birthday! I know this is tons late, but be glad you're getting anything at all. The Nico/Sadie fic I promised you for Christmas should be done soon, at any rate.**

**as of 09.20.12: **ohwow. I'm a bit speechless. A big thank you to whoever nominated _Hidden Beneath the Mist_ for a Phoenix Award in the Best Romance Category. If you like, you can vote at .com. C:

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_~Hidden Beneath the Mist~_

You always fall for that girl, the pretty, unatainable girl who would never in a bajillion years love you back. But you never, not even in your wildest dreams, imagined you'd fall for Piper McLean. You should have expected it though - she's just as beautiful, just as out of your league, just as _perfect_ (maybe even more so, you think) as the dozens of others you've fallen for. She's different, though. When you first realized how you felt – and it was unexpected, a whirlwind of emotions on a perfectly clear day - you almost dropped the hammer you were holding. Something makes you think they've always been there, like clouds on the horizon, buried with your Mist-covered memories.

But she is Jason's, and Jason is hers. They're inseparable, always talking and laughing around everywhere while you work hard at building the ship of your dreams that will take you to meet the other camp. You feel like the third wheel again, always popping in on their dates during the short breaks you occasionally let yourself have. You know you're unwelcome, and sometimes you relish the feeling you get when you insert yourself into their conversations. Mostly though, you feel guilty for disrupting their time together (not that you'd ever admit it).

You remember the first time, at the Wilderness School, watching, always watching, as she fell for Jason, tried to get Jason to notice her feelings, and finally, the day they got together, her pure happiness at being with him all over her face. You remember them shyly holding hands the next day, her triumphant look, a huge smile making her all the more beautiful. Your memories at the Wilderness School are a little blurry, but that's to be expected because none of it was real. (You feel something in your heart shatter as you remember the look on her face when she realised that.)

You sometimes wonder if it was ever you she tried so hard to win over, you she wanted to be with. You she once loved. But you'll never know because Hera took it all away when she sent them Jason, manipulating the Mist to alter their memories, making Piper think she was in love with Jason just so that it would be easier for the two camps to get along. You hate her for that.

When you found out that all of your memories from those three months weren't real, you almost jumped for joy. Maybe this time, you wouldn't be left out. Maybe this time, you'd get the girl. (Maybe, the voice in your head whispers, you always had the girl) But no. You just sat there watching as she fell for your best friend all over again. You screwed your second chance.

You want to curse your father for his genes. Because sometimes, you really do want to be able to interact with organic life forms without messing everything up.

You watch from the window of the forges as they walk past you, hands intertwined, their heads bent close together. A smile suddenly lights up her face, and in the next second, she's laughing like she never wants to stop. It isn't fair. You can't help but think that you should be the one making her so happy and carefree. You turn away from them and go back to working on the boat of your dreams. But you know that your dream boat means nothing without your dream girl standing next to you at the helm.

But Piper is Jason's, and everyone knows that the beauty queen would never settle for less than the golden boy. And so the hero always gets the girl.

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**A/N: ****Comments, suggestions, violent reactions? I know the Leo/Piper pairing isn't much supported, but I think they'd be good together. ****I'm thinking of maybe making this into the prologue of a multi-chaptered fic. Would anyone be opposed to that? ****Any and all reviews are very appreciated. **


	2. Piper

**A/N:**** More than a year after I posted the first chapter, and two months after I promised the second. Sorry about that. Also, this is unbeta'd so any mistakes you see are my own. Enjoy!**

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_~Hidden Beneath the Mist~_

PART 2: PIPER'S POV

You feel him staring at you sometimes. It's a tingly feeling, starting from the very center of your bones and spreading throughout your entire body (you think it's probably one of those daughter-of-Aphrodite perks you never asked for). Usually you'll turn and send him a questioning glance, and he'll just grin at you and pretend everything's alright. But it's not. You want to shout at him, tell him to stop staring, stop making you question everything, stop making you think and worry. But the what-ifs run through your head like a broken tape recorder and one you start to think, you can't stop. Jason, Jason, _Jason_. You're with Jason. You like Jason, even if those perfect months at the Wilderness School never actually happened (but what if they did?). You want to make the most of what you have now.

But still, you doubt. Even though you don't want to have to think about what happened during those three months at the Wilderness School, those Jason-less months that are filled with memories of nothing but Jason, you _need_ to know. You try to deny it, but you have a sinking feeling, in your heart of hearts, that those moments your remember sharing with Jason, kisses under the stars and awkward hand-holding, those blissful, happy, totally _right_ moments did happen. Just not with Jason. But who else could it be if not him?

You know the answer to your own question, only you don't want to admit it. He's always there, invading your space and your thoughts with his quips and his laughs. He's like an annoying fly you can't quite shake off. You don't want to think of him that way – he's Leo Valdez, the bane of your existence, the goofy boy who falls in love with every beautiful girl you meet, and takes every opportunity to tease you. He is so not your type (…right?). He can't be. He's finicky, and he's got issues that pile up higher than the Empire State Building (then again, so do you).

But it doesn't matter anyway. Because you're with Jason, Jason who makes you smile and laugh. Jason is so good to you, the girlfriend he never really had. But he gets this faraway (_guilty_) look in his eyes sometimes when you're together, like he shouldn't be doing this, as if there's someone important he's forgetting, someone he's betraying back at the Roman camp. And if you're honest with yourself, there probably is. How can there not be, when Jason is so damned perfect and handsome and sweet?

Sometimes, you get the feeling that Jason hasn't broken up with you only because he feels obligated to make up for the fact that you were never actually together. Which is stupid because really, you can take care of yourself. If he doesn't feel the same way, you won't collapse into a useless ball of tears and chocolate. You aren't a damsel-in-distress who needs saving every other second (unlike some sisters you could mention).

Right now, you only want the truth. You really can't help but hate Hera for hiding it from you. For the good of all demigods. You think you would have gotten just as well along with Jason if the memories she implanted were normal friendship-y ones. You want to decide for yourself who to love. You don't want anyone to trick you into it, put feelings that aren't supposed to be there into your head.

You hate your mother for that sometimes, too. Because the free will to love whomever you wanted wouldn't be as important to you if you weren't Aphrodite's daughter, and you wouldn't be stuck in limbo now. You'd be happy with Jason and you wouldn't even have thought to question what you feel for Leo.

You want those memories unveiled, damn it. And whether or not it changes your perspective of Leo-the-goofball, at least it will be the truth. It isn't fair to you, or to Jason, or to Leo to keep on going like this, half-blind and confused. You know that you won't be able to stand being so torn apart for much longer.

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**A/N:** **What do you guys think? Reviews and comments are very much appreciated. C: The ending was kind of rushed, but eh. ****Only one more chappie to go, in Jason's POV. Will they get their happy ending?**


	3. Jason

**A/N: Not so bad, see! It's only been a few months since I posted the second chapter. Ugh, I always feel like my chapters are rushed and kind of short, but I hope you like it! :D Hints of JasonReyna in this chapter too.**

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_~Hidden Beneath the Mist~_

PART 3: JASON'S POV

You can't help but think that you should feel something when you see Leo and Piper laughing and spending time together. But you don't. There isn't a green-eyed monster roaring up in your chest, the wind around you doesn't blow up into a storm, and (confusingly), you feel _relieved_. Which isn't what you're supposed to feel when the two closest people to you (as far as you can remember, at any rate) cozy up to each other. Especially when one of the two is your girlfriend and the other is your best friend.

But all you can think is that the stress lines that constantly mar Piper's face disappear when she and Leo are talking. She always looks beautiful, of course, but around Leo, she's radiant. Stunning. Otherworldly. You would say that she's even more gorgeous than Aphrodite herself (that is, if you wanted to be the cause of a Snow White-esque adventure. Which you definitely do not. You like your body parts attached, thank-you-very-much). She _glows_ when she's with him, even when they're arguing or she's scowling because he just told her a joke that gleefully tap-dances across the line.

You feel so guilty – what kind of boyfriend are you when you can't even muster up enough jealousy to get properly annoyed at Leo for stealing all of your girl's time? But gods, she doesn't look that happy when she's with you. Half the time she looks conflicted and the other half, she's aggressively cheery, a slightly manic grin on her face, as if she has to force herself to have a good time. And that just adds to your guilt.

You dream every night of long brown hair (but isn't Piper's hair short?) and dark, mesmerizing eyes. They aren't Piper's. When you wake, you can never remember the exact way her face crinkles up into a smile, her white teeth contrasting against her tanned skin (she could almost pass as Piper's sister), but you will never forget that her cold, verging on harsh demeanor only ever softens for you. When you strain your memory in the groggy seconds after waking up, you can recall calm nights watching over the camp, _your_ camp, together. You remember fiercely fighting side-by-side during the Titan War, adrenaline pumping through your blood, monster-guts splattered over both of you. But most importantly, you finally remember something important. The kiss. That one almost-kiss in the heat of battle, the fear that you'd never see her again. _Reyna_.

But when you are fully awake, you shove thoughts of Reyna to the back of your mind. Piper, Piper, _Piper_. You have Piper McLean, fiery Piper, fierce Piper, beautiful Piper. Thinking about Reyna and that maybe-kiss only served to plant doubts and _guiltguiltguilt_ and what-ifs into your head. You shouldn't be thinking about what could have been with Reyna when you have Piper. But you can't help but think that you don't have Piper, not really.

You also think of Leo. Your best friend. The way his eyes light up around Piper, the way he looks at her when he thinks no one can see. And it's only your selfishness, the way you can't seem to let her go, that stops him from being truly happy. They would be happy together, you know, happy in the way their godly parents should have been together. It's almost laughable really, _Aphrodite&Hephaestus_, _Leo&Piper_, but they fit together in a strange way, complement each other. You can't look at them together without feeling guilt (and Reyna's accusing eyes).

Piper is _perfect_. But you've come to realise that perhaps she isn't perfect for you. So, you hug her and whisper assurances and regrets in her ear. Under the bright sun, in the shadow of the _Argo II_, you send her off with a peck on her forehead and a small shove in the direction of Leo's waiting arms. You amble off after them, humming a tune, a smile on your face, hope filling your chest up like a balloon – you leave for Camp Jupiter later (and you think to yourself, _this is a good day_).

_Finis._

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**A/N: And so it ends. I might have a little bonus chapter up sometime though, the original epilogue I had written up ages ago, back when I was thinking about making this a long multi-chap that had actual dialogue instead of a drably three-shot thing. Look out for it tomorrow! :D**


	4. Leo II

**A/N: As promised, the final installment (shhh, I was supposed to have it up a couple of days ago, but the internet failed me for a bit, so). It's kind of a bonus chappie, but I'd originally intended for this to be the epilogue, so it kind of echoes the first chapter of this story more than parts two and three. I'm kind of afraid that it ruins the whole three-parter flow that I had, which is why it's not really part of the story. I've got a longer A/N at the end for additional things~**

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_~Hidden Beneath the Mist~_

_The hero always gets the girl._ The thought pounds through your head, lighting speed, in time with your heart beat. (Heroheroheroherohero)

It doesn't make sense. You aren't a hero, and yet, it's you Piper is standing in front of now, you Piper is looking at in _that_ way, your lips Piper's are slamming against. You, Leo Valdez, who can't properly interact with organic lifeforms to save yourself. You. Not Jason Grace, golden boy, son of Jupiter himself, son of the god of gods. You.

You know you should probably pull away, list to her all the reasons why she shouldn't be doing this, at least, not with you, make sure that she's sure about this, sure about _you_. But you can't seem to remember any of your objections at the moment (nor why you should even have objections in the first place), not when Piper is kissing you, and all of your dreams are coming to life right before your eyes.

Only it's so much better than dreams because it's _real_, it's here, it's actually happening. When that thought runs through your head, you pull her closer, running your hands through her hair as if to reassure yourself that you won't wake up in the next second. You and Piper. Leo Valdez and Piper McLean. Together. You steel yourself and pull away to peer into her eyes, but she's looking at you defiantly, her eyes swirling with so much emotion that it takes you a while to sort it out. When you do, you're blown – there's no hesitation in her gaze, no doubt at all, only a familiar desperation and love. You grin at her, letting your eyes tell her what you cannot yet, feeling some of the tension leave your shoulders. You pull her into another searing kiss. There'll be more time to talk later.

It takes you a few days of standing at the helm of the Argo II (not to mention several slaps and glares), to finally realise that there's more than one kind of hero. Jason may be a typical hero-leader, but you're a hero in your own right. You've saved their butts many times over, and the camp might even be giant food if it weren't for you.

Okay, maybe you aren't the _perfect_ hero (you're clumsy and weird and laugh a little too much and make jokes when you know you shouldn't), but she's with you despite all your imperfections (because of them). You've had your heart broken so many times, fallen for so many girls, but you think that you've finally fallen for the right one.

You used to think that Piper preferred the shining prince in golden armour, always ready to swoop in and save the day. But it gives you a warm glow in your heart when you think about how she'd kick your butt if she knew that you'd ever even contemplated the idea of her being the damsel-in-distress type. Because she's so much more than that – she's the badass princess who busts herself out of the locked tower, and you're the knight in rusty armour who provides the escape via metal dragonship. And really, you wouldn't have it any other way.

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**A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who took the time of the day to read this story and reviewed it or put it on story alerts or favorites (and even if you didn't do any of those things except read it! It's amazing, just thinking about that fact that people have read this and enjoyed it), because I've realized that I haven't ever thanked you all (partly because I can never remember who I've already responded to via PM). This is the first multi-chap that I've finished, even if it did take me more than a year, so I'm happy.**

**I've been thinking about writing a proper LeoPiper plotty-multi-chap-with-dialogue-and-stuff story for the time when they were at the Wilderness School, but I don't know if I'll have much time to write it, since this coming school year is senior year and it's bound to be filled with a lot of college-related stress and homework and stuff. D: So! If anyone is interested in writing it or have written or read something like it, I'd like to read it and would be forever in your debt if you could send me a link.**


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